Combined lamp and radio receiving set



Apri 22, 1941. D. J. CROWLEY COMBINED LAM? AND RADIO RECEIVING SET Filed April 12, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l luuvnsnonnnnannu: one! vlllllflllllllllilillll.

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Y my. E TL N mw. W O @l T R T IPN A J L E N A D Y 2mm B uw?? April 22, 1941. D. .1. CROWLEY COMBINED LAMP AND RADIO RECEIVING SET 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12, 1938 INVENTOR DANIEL J .CROWLEY April 22, 1941- D. J. cRowLEY COMBINED LAMP AND RADIO RECEIVING' SET 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April l2, 1938 willi.

INVENTOR /`I 410/ I ATTORNEY DANIE L J. CROWLEY sil asnonocccnnsnoonl Patented Apr. 22, 1941 U N i TE D 'S TAT E S yPAT E N l" "G FF liCE.

Daniel J. Crowley, Grosse Pointed/lich.

Application April 12, 1938,/Serial No. 201,634

9 Claims.

This invention is a continuation in `part of my Patent No. 2,176,667, dated Got. '17, 1939, and relates to a combined article of furniture and radio receiving set.

More particularly, 'the Vinvention v concerns itself t with a lamp constructed to embody the various instrumenta-lines Aof -a complete radio receiving apparatus and has as one of its objects to provide a lamp construction `having a base assembly 'adapted to house certain `of the parts of a radio receiving set and having ya-shade assembly fashioned Vto house certain cooperating parts of the radio Ireceiving apparatus.

AIn accordance 4with the present invention, the shade assembly is supported from the base assembly by a pedestal and -it is a further object of thisinvention to provide means supported on the pedestal in a'posfition to lbe conveniently accessible iorinanipulation bythe operator to tune the `receiving set to any-one -of the sending stations broadcasting on the Aselected. Wave band.

A rfurther advantageous feature lof the present invention `consists `in the provision of a cornbined lamp and radio receiving set of the type `Vpreviously set forth wherein theinstrimientalities of 'the radio receiving circuit are Aingeniously ar- 'rangedlin compact groups distributed in different portionsof the lamp in amanner `to not only permit artist-inail ro ortioning the various sections Y p i3 of the lamp, but to .also insure obtaining maxi- `mum .efficiency of koperation 'from the particular `radio 'circuit selected.

of Figure l;

.Figure 4 tis a `vertical sectional View through `the tuning unit;

Figure 45 illustrates a diagram of one type of radio .receiving circuit that may be employed in auction featured in Figure 1;

.a side elevational View, partly in on.v ci another embodirnentof this invention;

VFigure 7 is a side elevational view, partly in Cil lthe lradio receiving circuit. .Figure 2, it will be noted that the various `parts Aof the radio receiving circuit in the base assemseotiomof a fiurtl-ier inodication oi the present invention.

VReferring 'first to the embodiment `of the invention shown inF-igures 1 to l4, inclusive, vit will Vbe noted that there is illustrated in Figure l a door lamp of artisticoesign having a base assem- 1 ly l!! and a shade I'assembly I l supported from the base bymeans oi a pedestal I2. inthe present instance, 'a number of the instrumentalities of the radio receiving circuit are compactly distributed in the 4base assembly It and the cooperating parts of "the circuit are grouped in the shade-assembly Il. The several parts-oi theradio receiving set 'in the base assembly Iii are elec- `tricallyconnected to the cooperating parts of the circuit -intheshade assembly I I by means of electrical conductors -Gnot shown) but which be `extended through the hollow pedestal. Although the electrical connections are not shown herein,

it will, of '.course, be understood that the conductors must be properly shieldedin accordance With radio practice to insure eioient performance oi the receiving set.

Although it is to be understoedthat the speoic rparts of the radio receiving circuit housed by the abovenamed assemblies in the lamp may vary to suit-existing conditions, nevertheless, for the purpose of illustration, I have selected the following distribution of the parts. Upon refer- Vvence toFigure 5, it will ybe noted that the radio receiving circuit selected herein for the purpose of illustrating the present invention is of the superheterodyne type. The parts of the circuit contained in the area designated by the reference character A vin `Figure 5 are housed in the base assembly I0 o f the lamp, and the parts of the circuit contained in the area designated by the reference character B are located in the lamp assembly Il of the lamp. In other words, the speaker unit I3 containing the instrunientalities in area `l and the combined volume and ofi and on switch It are housed in the shade assembly `I I, while all of the remaining instrumentalities of the circuitare frrouped in the base assembly Il).

The base assembly Iii comprises a supporting plate I5 and a cover l detaclialbly secured to the supporting plate by means o'f the fastener elements I S. The supporting plate I5 is of suiicient size to support the instrumentalities of the radio circuit contained in area A in Figure 5 and the cover iii serves to conceal all of these parts of Upon reference to bly D are supported on a spider I1 having a hub in the form of an inverted cup-shaped member i8. The cup-shaped member |8 is secured to the supporting plate I centrally of the latter by means of the fastener elements I9 and serves as a support for fthe lower end of the pedestal 29. Referring again to Figure 24 of the drawings, it will be noted that the spider |1 is provided with three symmetricaly arranged radially extending plates or spokes 2| and each of these spokes forms a support for a variable condenser 22. The variable condensers 22 are of conventional construction comprising the usual stator 23 and rotor 24. The blades on the stators of the variable condensers, of course, cooperate with the blades on the rotors to vary the capacitance of the circuit and tune the radio set to any one of the wave lengths on `the selected band. Upon reference to Figure l, it will be noted that the rotor shafts 25 of the several condensers are adjusted to vary the capacitance of the circuit by a central driving gear 26 rotatably mounted on the inverted cup-shaped member I8 and supported on the spider |1. The upper ends of the rotor shafts 25 are symmetrically arranged with respect to the axis of the driving gear 26 and each of the rotor shafts has a pinion 21 secured to the upper end thereof in intermeshing relationship with the driving gear 26. Thus, rotation of the central driving gear 26 eects a corresponding adjustment of each of the several variable condensers.

Rotation of the driving gear 26 to effect adjustment of the variable condensers is accomplished by means of a tuning unit 28 supported on the pedestal l2 at a point between the base and shade assemblies. The point of location of the tuning unit is predetermined to provide for convenient manipulation by the operator. The tuning unit is operatively connected to the driving gear 26 by means of a tube 29 rotatably mounted on the pedestal tube 20 in concentric relation thereto and having an inverted cup-shaped member 3U secured to the lower end thereof. The inverted cup-shaped member 30 extends through a central opening 3| in the cover I6 and the periphery of the annular side flange 32 rests upon the driving gear 26. As shown in lFigure 1, the periphery of the annular flange 32 is fashioned with circumferentially spaced notches 33 adapted to receive projections 34 struck out fromi a ring I 35 fixed to the top surface of the driving gear 26. The construction is such as to provide a readily detachable driving connection between the tube 29 and the driving gear 26.

It follows from the above that rotation of the tube 29 imparts a corresponding rotation to the driving gear 26 and, through the pinions 21, operates the variable condensers 22. The tube 29 is rotated by means of a control disc 36 shown in Figure 4 as centrally apertured to receive the f pedestal tube 2|] and to also receive a collar 31. The collar 31 is rotatably mounted on the tube 29 and is provided with a slot 38 of sufcient dimension to receive a projection 39 on the control disc 36. The construction is such as to proi:

vide a driving connection between the control disc 36 and the collar 31 so that rotation of the former effects a corresponding rotation of the l-atter. The control disc 36 is positioned axially with respect to the collar 31 by means of Washers 3 4|) and 4i threaded on the collar at opposite sides of the control disc.

The collar 31 is operatively connected to the upper end of the tube 29 by speed reducing mechanism in order to provide a Vernier adjustment of the variable condensers. In the present instance, the speed reducing mechanism is of the friction type having a plurality of freely rotatable discs 42 spaced from each other equal distances around the collar 31 and journalled on vertically extending stub shafts 43. Upon reference to Figure 4, it will be noted that the stub shafts 43 are supported on a carrier disc 44 freely rotatably mounted on the collar 31 between the radially outwardly extending ange 45 on the collar and a plate 46. The plate 46 is, of course, centrally apertured to receive the lower end of the collar 31 and this plate is supported on the collar by means of a disc 41 secured to the plate, as at 48, and has a hub 49 secured to the pedestal tube 20.

It will be noted from Figure 4 that the sides of the revoluble discs 42, adjacent the axis of the tube 26, are frictionally urged into engagement with the upper side of the radially outwardly extending flange 45 on the collar 31 by means of a disc 49 supported on the collar 31 above the revoluble discs 42 and normally urged into engagement with the latter by means of a spring washer 50. Peripheral portions of the spring washers are Vfashioned to provide spring ngers 5| adapted to be compressed by engagement with the washers 4| supporting the control disc 36 on the collar. As a result of the above construction, the inner sides of the revoluble discs 42 are yieldably clamped between the radially outwardly extending flange 45 and the disc 49. Referring again to Figure 4, it will be apparent that the outer sides of the revoluble discs 42 are yieldably clamped between the two rings 52 and 53. The top ring 52 is provided at spaced points with depending strips 54 secured to correspondinglyspacedprojections 55 extending downwardly from the plate 46. The opposed ring 53 is supported upon a plurality of spring fingers 56 struck out from the plate 46 at points spaced around the axis of the collar 31. With this construction, it will be noted that rotation of the control disc 36 by the operator exerts a driving force upon the inner sides of the revoluble discs 42 tending to rotate the carrier 44 at a corresponding rate. In the event the carrier is rotated as a unit with the control disc 36, the outer sides of the discs 42 must move through a greater arc than the inner sides, and this movement is restricted by the frictional engagement of the rings 52 and 53 with the outer sides of the discs. As a result, the discs 42 are rotated upon actuation of the control disc 36 and the carrier 44 is revolved at a much slower rate than the control disc 36. VThe speed differentiation, of course, depends upon the dimensions of the parts and, in the present instance, is such as to provide the desired Vernier control of the variable condensers. In this connection, it will b-e noted that the carrier disc 44 is connected to the upper end of the tube 29 for rotating the latter at the reduced rate by means of a driving discV 51 secured to the upper ends of the shafts 43 by means of the screws 58 and having tongues 59 extending into notches 653 formed in the upper edge of a ring Si carried by a cup-shaped cover 62. Referring again to Figure 4.-, it will be noted that the ring ,6| is xed toV the inner surface of the upstanding flange on the cup-Shaped cover S2 and the latter is secured to the upper end of the tube 29 by means of a collar 63. The cup-shaped cover 62 1s of sufficient dimension to house the reduction mechanism and to thoroughly conceal. the latter from view.

One side of the cup-shaped cover 62 is provided with a slot 64 therethrough for exposing the wave indicating band 65 which is secured to the inner side of the upstanding flange of the cup-shaped cover opposite the slot. Thus, it will be seen that the wave indicating band rotates as a unit with the cup-shaped cover B2 at a reduced rate effected by the reduction mechanism, 1 and the graduations on the wave indicating band are identified by means of a xed pointer 66 secured to the ring 52 in the cup-shaped cover and projecting through a slot 61 in the cover 62. The slot 6l is of suilicient length to cover the entire i band Without interfering with the rotation of the cover 62.

In addition to the foregoing, the tuning control unit 28 is provided with means for varying the resistance controlling the volume and for also operating the switch in thev supply circuit. The combined volume control rheostat and off and "on switch I 4 has previously been described as mounted in the shade assembly and in accordance with the present invention may be operated from a position immediately adjacent the control disc 36. In detail, a tube 10 is telescopically engaged with the portion of the pedestal tube 20 extending beyond the tuning unit 28, and the lower end of the tube 18 is provided 3 with an enlargement H shaped to cooperate With the cup-shaped cover 6,2 in providing an attractive design. Actually, the enlargement serves as a control for rotating the tube 18 relative to the pedestal tube 20.

Upon reference to Figure l, it will be noted that the internal diameter of the tube HJr is greater than the outside diameter of thev tube 2l! and the former tube is axially positioned relative to the latter tubeV by means of an annular projection 12 extending inwardly from the tube iii adjacent the lower end thereof and adapted to rest upon an annular projection 13 extending outwardly from the pedestal tube 28. The ends of the cooperating projections are flat in an ax ial direction in order to provide an eiiicient bearing engagement between the two tubes.

The upper end of the tube 1i) is secured to a cup-shaped member 14 in the shade assembly of sufficient diameter to receive the lower end of a housing l5, and a ring gear I6 is secured to the inner side wall of the cup-shaped member in a manner to mesh with a pinion i1 secured to the lower end of a vertical shaft 18. The vertical shaft 18 and pinion 11 are located within the .3.

housing 'l5 and the latter is slotted, as at 19, to provide for extending the periphery of the pinion through the side Wall of the housing into engagement with the ring gear 16. As a result, rotation of the ring gear 16 by the cup-shaped member 'M and tube 18 effects a rotation of the vertical shaft TS. The upper end of the vertical shaft 'I8 is connected to the combined volume rheostat and off and ""on switch i4 in a manu ner to control the supply circuit to the radio re- Y. .l

ceiving apparatus and to regulate the volume of the radio circuit. It follows from the above that the various instrumentalities of the radio receiving circuit requiring adjustment may be controlled from the unit 28 which is supported onthe l pedestal in a convenient tion by the operator.

Reference has brieiiy been mede above to the position for manipuia fact that the speaker'unit I3 is housed in the lamp assembly IS, together with the combined 7:3 be identical to volume rheostat and oil and "on switch I4. In the present instance, the speaker and power transformer are secured in any suitable manner (not shown) in the housing l5 and the latter, in turn, supports the speaker cone SU'at the upper end thereof. The housing also forms a support for the audio tube 8l and rectier tube 82 which are connected in the radio receiving circuit in the manner clearly indicated in Figure 5. In the present instance, the illuminating electric light bulbs 83 are also supported on the housing 'i5 and are so positioned with respect to the other instrumentalities of the speaker unit as to prevent the latter from casting shadows. The speaker unit I3 and illuminating means are enclosed by a shade 85 positioned on the upper end of the housing and having a top Wall 86 forming a baille for the speaker.

In some installations, it may be desirable to provide the radio receiving apparatus with a tone control in association with the speaker unit. The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 6 is provided with a tone control and the latter, together with the variable condensers and combined volume rheostat and 01T and on switch, are actuated from a control unit 90 positioned on the pedestal in substantially the same manner as the control unit 28. The variable condensers in this embodiment of the invention are actuated from the control unit Si) in exactly the same manner as defined in connection with the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures l to 5, inclusive. In Figure 6, however, the combined volume rheostat and off and on switch Sl is supported in the base assembly of the lamp. As shown in Figure 6, the device 9| is secured to the inverted cup-shaped member I8 directly below the lower end of the pedestal tube 28 in a manner to permit directly connecting the same with the lower end of an operating rod S3 extending vertically in the pedestal tube 20. The rod 83 is rotated to actuate the device 9| by means of a control Sd having a hub .i5 rotatably supported on the pedestal tube 28 and having a ring gear .96 embedded therein in a manner to mesh with a pinion 97 iixed to the upper end of the rod Q3. The pedestal tube 20 is formed with a slot 93 opposite the ring gear 98, and this slot is of sunicient dimension to permit the periphery of the pinion El to extend through the tube into interrneshing engagement with the ring gear.

The tone control for the speaker is located in the transformer housing and is controlled by means of a tube 93 telescopically engaging the pedestal tube 29 above the control 9G. The lower end of the tube 99 is supported on the pedestal tube 2G in the same ina-nner as the tube 10 in Figure l is supported on the pedestal, and the upper end of the tube is provided with a cupshaped member it@ identical in construction to the cup-shaped member 'iii in that it is provided with a ring gear iii for rotating the pinion |02 on the tone control shaft iii. Thus, it will be noted that the construction shown in Figure 6 embodies all of the advantages of 'the construei tion featured in Figures .l to 5, inclusive, with the additional advantage that the tone control may operated from the controi unit 9o.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 7, I have illustrated the manner in which a radio receiving set may be incorporated in a table lamp. .The distribution of the various instriunentalities of the radio receiving circuit may the arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, and the various parts of the radio circuit requiring adjustment are controlled from a unit IE5 identical to the unit 28, with the exception that it is positioned immediately adjacent the cover it of the base assernbly.` In all other respects, the construction and' operation of the embodiment shown in Figure '7 are the same as the one described in detail in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. In a combined lamp and radio receiving apparatus, the combination of a lamp having a base section, a shade section, a vertical stanchion supporting the shade section from the base section and including axially aligned tubes supported for rotation about the axis of the stanchion, a radio receiving circuit having parts supported within said sections of theV lamp and certain of the parts being adjustable, an operative connection between one tube and one of the adjustable parts eiiective to adjust the latter upon rotation of 'said tube, an operative connection between the second tube and another of the adjustable parts effective to adjust the latter upon rotation o the second tube, and a control supported between the adjacent ends of the tubes for rotation about the vertical axis of the stanchion and operatively connected to one of the tubes through the medium of reduction mechanism for rotating the latter tube at a reduced rate.

2. In a combined lamp and radio receiving apparatus, the combination of a lamp having a base section, a shade section, a vertical stanchion supporting the shade section from the base section and including a pair of vertically aligned tubes supported for rotation about the vertical axis of the stanchion, a radio receiving circuit having parts supported Within said sections of the lamp and certain of the parts being adjustable', means operatively connecting one tube with one of the adjustable parts effective to adjust the latter part upon rotation of said tube, means operatively connecting the second tube to another of the adjustable parts for actuating the latter, and means supported between the adjacent ends of the tubes for rotation about the vertical axis and operatively connected to still another of the adjustable parts for actuating the same.

3. In a floor lamp radio structure, a base, a radio set including a volume control means and a tuning control means all contained within said base, a hollow standard extending upwardly from said base for the support of a lamp shade adapted to contain a lighting means, annular dial members concentric with and independently turnably mounted on the exterior of said standard in spaced relation one above the other to occupy a location on said standard intermediate the base and the supported lamp shade, a tubular shaft to extend downwardly from the lowermost dial member into said base, a second shaft extending downwardly through said tubular shaft from the uppermost dial member and beyond the lower end of said tubular shaft into said base, transmission means between said tubular shaft and said lowermost dial member, and means connecting the lower ends; oi said tubular shaft and said second shaft in actuating relation one to said volume control means and y the other to said tuning control means,

paratus supported in the base section and including a variable condenser, an annular dial member concentric with and rotatably supported on the exterior of the pedestal at a point intermediate the base and shade sections, a shaft extending downwardly from the dial member toward the base and having the upper end operatively `connected-to the dial member, and means at the lower end of the shaft operatively connected to the variable condenser for actuating the same.

5. In a combined lamp and radio receiving apparatus, the combination of a base having a pedestal extending upwardly therefrom and a shade section supported on the pedestal at the upperV end thereof, radio receiving apparatus supported in the base section and including a plurality of variable condensers distributed in the base in concentric relation to the pedestal and each condenser having a rotor shaft provided with a pinion, an annular dial member concentric with and rotatably mounted on the exterior of the pedestal at a point between the base and shade sections, a shaft extending downwardly from the dial and having the upper end operatively connected to the dial for actuation by the latter, a central driving gear supported for rotation in concentric relation to the pedestal and meshing with the pinions, and means operatively connecting the lower end of the shaft to the central ldriving gear for actuating the condensers simultaneously.

6. In a combined lamp and radio receiving apparatus, the combination of a base section having a pedestal extending upwardly therefrom and a shade section mounted on the pedestal at the upper end thereof, radio receiving apparatus having a rheostat supported in one of the sections and having a variable condenser located in the :base section, a pair of annular dial members concentric with and independently turnably mounted on the exterior of the pedestal in spaced relation one above the other to occupy a location on the pedestal intermediate the base section and the shade section, a shaft extending downwardly from the dial members and having the upper end connected to one of the dial members for actuation by the latter, means operatively connecting the lower end of said shaft to the variable' condenser, and means operatively connecting the other of said dial members to the rheostat.

7. In a combined lamp and radio receiving apparatus, the combination of a base section having a pedestal extending upwardly therefrom and a shade section mounted on the pedestal at the upper end thereof, radio receiving apparatus housed in the base, said apparatus including a rheostat and a variable condenser, a pair of annular ,dial members concentric with and independently turnaibly mounted on the exterior of said pedestal in spaced relation one above the other to occupy a location on said pedestal intermediate the base section and the shade section, a pair of shafts extending downwardly from the dial members, means connecting the upper endV of one of the shafts to the uppermost dial. member, means connecting the upper end of the other of the shafts to the lowerrnost dial member, and means connecting the lower ends of said shafts in actuating relation, one to said ser.

8. In a combined lamp and radio receiving apparatus, the combination of a base section havrheostat and the other to said variable condening a pedestal extending upwardly therefrom and a shade section mounted on the pedestal at the upper end thereof, radio receiving apparatus housed in the base section and including a p1urality oi variable condensers concentrically disposed with respect to the pedestal and each variable condenser having a rotor provided with a pinion, a central driving gear rotatably mounted about the axis of the pedestal and meshing with said pinions, an annular dial member con- 1 centric with and rotatably supported on the exterior of the pedestal at a point intermediate the base section and the shade section, a tubular shaft rotatable about the axis of the pedestal exteriorly of the latter and having the upper end l connected to the dial member, and means con` necting the lower end of the shaft to said central driving gear.

9. In a combined lamp and radio receiving apparatus, the combination of a base having a 20 pedestal extending upwardly therefrom and a shade section mounted on the pedestal at the upper end thereof, radio receiving apparatus housed in the base section and including a rheostat and a plurality of variable condensers concentrically disposed with respect to the pedestal and each condenser having a rotor provided with a pinion, a central driving gear rotatably supported about the axis of the pedestal and meshing with the pinions, a pair of annular dial members concentric with and independently turnably mounted on the exterior of said ped estal in spaced relation one above the other to occupy a location on the pedestal intermediate the .base section and the shade section, a tubular shaft rotatable about the axis of the pedestal exteriorly of the latter and extending downward ly from the dial members, means operatively con necting the upper end of the shaft to one of the dial members and for operatively connecting the lower end of the shaft to the central driving gear, a second shaft mounted within the pedestal and having the upper end operatively connected to the other of the dial members, and means connecting the lower end of the second shaft to said rheostat.

DANIEL J. CROWLEY. 

